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“Lucky” is a word that crops up repeatedly in an interview with Paul Greengrass. More than once, the 58-year-old Briton interrupts his own train of thought to express his general gratitude for the way his career has turned out.

“The opportunities I’ve been given, and continue to be given — I’ve always felt very blessed,” he says deliberately, almost bashfully.

Let it be said that 2013 has given Greengrass much reason to feel this way. “Captain Phillips,” his first feature since 2010’s underperforming “Green Zone,” has held fast at the domestic and international box office, drawn admiring reviews and significant awards hopes.

Greengrass’ own trophy haul will begin at the Dec. 8 British Independent Film Awards, where he’ll receive the Variety Award for bringing international attention to U.K. cinema — a fitting honor for a director who has remained fiercely loyal to British collaborators even as Hollywood, beginning with his 2004 franchise takeover “The Bourne Supremacy,

Helena Bonham Carter has made a habit out of playing fantastical, eccentric characters. The British actress has cut off heads as the zany Red Queen in "Alice in Wonderland," cursed helpless muggles as Bellatrix Lestrange in "Harry Potter," and even served up fresh, hot meat (not the good kind) pies as Mrs. Lovett in "Sweeney Todd." In "The Lone Ranger," which opens this week, she plays a woman who runs a brothel house.

But what about the woman behind these uniquely outrageous characters? Below, we run down 25 little-known facts about Bonham-Carter, including the roles she almost played and her side business that helps jazz up your jeans.

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1. She is the first cousin of Baroness Jane Bonham-Carter. She is also the great-granddaughter of H.H. Asquith who was British Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916.

2. She was denied admission to King's College, Cambridge University, but not because she was a bad student; the

Updated: Ok, so I’ve had way to many emails from you guys pointing out that the Oscar form isn’t working for some of you this time around. I’ve put my best team of problem solvers on the issue and they can’t work it out, but 7 or 8 of you have told me it’s not working for you… so I presume there’s many more out there. To date we’ve had a little less entries than last time, so this problem is too much for me to ignore.

My only solution for now is for you to email your picks to editor@obsessedwithfilm.com. I will be collating results on Monday or Tuesday, so you’ve got a bit of time left to enter.

Now you’ve read our 1999 Academy Awards retrospective, here’s your chance to re-write history without the hassle of going back in

When The Bourne Ultimatum came out, Damon and Greengrass made it clear that they were done with the franchise. The trilogy completed, the circle, closed, etc., etc., etc., but with Damon and Greengrass' last film, Green Zone, a fictionalized take on the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in post-war Iraq (circa 2003), a bomb (no one, regardless of their political beliefs wanted to see anoother Iraq War-set film,

It looks director Paul Greengrass may be making his first voyage into the world of the epic and fantastical with a 3D remake of the 1966 classic sci-fi adventure, Fantastic Voyage.

The film was about a team of people who get miniaturized and injected into the bloodstream of a dying scientist in order to save his life.

Last December we reported on what Avatar director, James Cameron would be moving onto after he finished with the blue Na’Vi of the world of Pandora. At first it was reported he was working with script writer Shane Salerno (Avp 2 – ouch!) on a sci-fi film described as an “event set in the future.” That project was then revealed to be the remake of Fantastic Voyage.

Although many would like it, Cameron will not be directing Fantastic Voyage (he’ll be lending his producing talents). As you’ve probably guessed already, Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy,

Robert here, continuing my series on important contemporary directors. I feel sorta bad featuring Paul Greengrass just a week after his most divisive film. What's interesting about that film is how both the pro and the con arguments seem to be in agreement on what the film is, just their reaction to it differs. But more on that later. First...

In order for you to properly experience this post grab both sides of your monitor and shake it vigorously; up down, side to side, every which way. More and more. Just shake the bejesus out of it. There, now doesn't this piece feel gritty and realistic?

The Oscar nominated British director Paul Greengrass seems drawn to "issue" movies. His feature directorial debut was the disease-of-the-week movie The Theory of Flight (1998), and he found acclaim with the explosive Bloody Sunday (2002) and the gripping, grueling United 93 (2006), though none of those exactly resulted in a bonanza of ticket sales. He seemed to come closer to his true calling with the second two Bourne films, The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), bringing his gift for tense action as well as uncommon intelligence to a pair of summer action films. If there were any "issues" in those movies, they were buried deep in the kinetic plots.

Now we find Greengrass at a crossroads. Clearly the issue movies bring more glory and more personal satisfaction, but the action movies bring in happier customers and more riches. It's a conundrum many artists have faced since the days of Sullivan's Travels (1941), when

6. The Theory of Flight: A man who attempts human flight off a public building is forced, via community service, to care for a woman with a terminal disease (Helena Bonham Carter). She wants him to de-flower her before she dies.

5. Imaginary Barry: A movie still in development about a jackass who dies, but is forced to fulfill a community service obligation to be an imaginary friend before he can pass on to heaven.

4. A Walk to Remember: A bad boy high-school student (Shane West) must join the school's drama club as part of his community service obligation, where he falls in love with a virgin.

3. 30 Days: A white kid from an affluent suburb and a black kid from the inner city must do labor in each other's communities for 30 days.

Following the first day of filming on director Kenneth Branagh’s long awaited “Thor” adaptation, several of the cast members are already enthusiastically talking about their experiences on the set. Ray Stevenson was particularly boisterous when speaking about his role as Volstagg — the powerful and rather obese member of the Warriors Three — during the premiere for “The Book of Eli”

“Oh, I've got a huge fat suit, I'm going to be shedding a lot of pounds in that thing,” said Stevenson during an interview with About.com. “It's just great fun and Kenneth Branagh is fantastic!” Stevenson also spoke at length about the mythology and tone of the movie.

“It's basically the ‘Thor’ comic book.,” related Stevenson. “It's definitely the Marvel comic book. The origins of the Norse legends. What is actually behind the Norse legends is what's explored in the Marvel comic book. The existence of Asgard and the Nine Realms.

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